This invention relates to packaging for refrigerated and frozen dough, particularly pre-proofed dough.
A wide variety of prepared bread and bread-like dough products are currently available which allow a user to xe2x80x9chome bakexe2x80x9d the dough to produce a desirable hot, fresh-baked item. These bread and bread-like dough products generally contain a substantial leavening ingredient and include, but are not limited to, loaves of bread, such as French bread, white bread or whole wheat bread, bread sticks, biscuits, rolls, pizza dough and the like, and will be referred to hereinafter generally as xe2x80x9cbread dough.xe2x80x9d These varieties of prepared bread dough products are currently sold in both frozen and refrigerated forms. Users generally favor the refrigerated products over the frozen products, however, because refrigerated bread dough does not need time to thaw and typically does not need time to rise prior to baking. Therefore, the refrigerated bread dough is ready to bake at any time.
Although refrigerated bread dough is preferable with respect to ease of use and preparation time, the storage of such dough is somewhat more complicated than storing frozen bread dough. One reason is that at least some leavening systems used with bread dough permit the dough to rise at refrigeration temperatures. The process through which bread dough rises in response to the activity of the leavening system is referred to in the industry as xe2x80x9cproofingxe2x80x9d. Thus, storage packages for refrigerated bread dough must accommodate some degree of proofing during storage without rupturing.
Currently, refrigerated bread dough is stored in composite canisters which allow the refrigerated bread dough to proof while in the canister. As shown in FIG. 1, the canister is usually formed from composite paper board spirally wound into a cylinder which is disposed between a pair of end caps that are not hermetically sealed. The volume of dough packed into the canister is usually less than the canister volume, and as the dough proofs and expands, the pressure increases substantially so as to force the dough against the canister end caps to seal gas passages around the end caps of the canister. The overall volume of the dough after proofing, which is equal to the interior volume of the canister, divided by the initial weight of the dough is referred to as the raw specific volume (xe2x80x9cRSVxe2x80x9d) of the product. A typical RSV value for refrigerated bread dough in a canister is usually in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 cubic centimeters per gram, with a typical value of 1.2 cubic centimeters per gram. Once the bread dough is baked, the overall volume of the baked bread item divided by the weight of the bread is referred to as the baked specific volume (xe2x80x9cBSVxe2x80x9d) of the product. A typical BSV value for refrigerated bread dough in a canister that bakes into a bread loaf is usually in the range of 3.0 to 4.0 cubic centimeters per gram. Higher BSV values are usually preferred because the baked item tends to be larger and lighter relative to the initial amount of dough provided.
Although the use of canisters for refrigerated dough has provided satisfactory results in the past, this type of storage suffers from various limitations, for example, the packaging costs associated with such canisters are relatively high. In addition, the BSV values of the bread formed from the dough packaged in the canister tend to be rather low. One reason for this is because the RSV values of the packaged dough are limited by the canister package. In order to obtain a good seal around the end caps, a relatively low RSV value is usually required, which in turn results in a relatively low BSV value upon baking of the dough. To produce larger loaves of baked bread and thus larger BSV values, larger canisters and/or larger amounts of bread dough are required, which in turn increases the production costs of the product.
Another current form of storage for food products, including those that may be refrigerated and/or frozen, is a package known in the industry as a xe2x80x9cchub,xe2x80x9d as shown in FIG. 2. The chub usually includes a tubular package of thin, flexible material that is filled with a quantity of food item. The tubular package ends may be closed by any appropriate means, but are often clamped shut by crimped clips. Although the chub has been demonstrated as being useful in packaging numerous types of food items, including cookie dough, sausage, ground meats, polenta and butter, use with a food product that often requires a substantial amount of proofing has not been demonstrated.
A dough product that may be refrigerated or frozen includes a package constructed as a chub from a substantially gas impermeable material with a dough portion disposed inside the package. The dough portion includes at least flour, a liquid, such as water, and a leavening system that causes the dough portion to expand or proof The package includes gas transfer passages that allow for gas to exit the package as the dough portion proofs. The passages may be formed by closing of the package ends with clips leaving a small opening at one or more ends of the package. As the dough portion proofs it bears against the interior of the package to seal the gas transfer passages and prevent oxygen re-entry. The dough product in the chub may be stored at a refrigeration temperature or at a frozen temperature, as needed to obtain a desired shelf life. Frozen bread dough products in accordance with the present invention may be directly baked upon removal from the freezer, and need not be either thawed or proofed prior to baking.
A method of making a dough product includes providing a package constructed from a flexible, substantially gas impermeable material with the package having at least one opening. A portion of bread dough is prepared which includes at least flour, a liquid, such as water, and a leavening system, and the dough portion is inserted into the package through the opening. The package is closed to encase the dough. The package is not sealed against gas transfer, however, but instead includes at least one gas transfer passage. The dough is then allowed to proof and expand within the package, such that gas is expelled through the gas transfer passage until the dough effectively seals the package by plugging the passage and arresting further proofing of the dough. The proofed bread dough product may then be stored at refrigeration or frozen temperatures.